North Dakota Pipeline

COMMONDREAMS| President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed executive orders advancing the controversial Keystone XL (KXL) and Dakota Access (DAPL) pipelines, prompting cries of outrage and vows of resistance from the Indigenous activists, climate campaigners, and countless others who have voiced opposition to these projects.

“More people sent comments against Dakota Access and Keystone XL to the government than any project in history. The world’s climate scientists and its Nobel laureates explained over and over why it was unwise and immoral,” McKibben said. “In one of his first actions as president, Donald Trump ignores all that in his eagerness to serve the oil industry. It’s a dark day for reason, but we will continue the fight.”

“Trump clearly doesn’t know what he’s doing,” agreed 350.org executive director May Boeve. “Indigenous peoples, landowners, and climate activists did everything in our power to stop Keystone XL and Dakota Access, and we’ll do it again. These orders will only reignite the widespread grassroots opposition to these pipelines and other dirty energy projects. Trump is about to meet the fossil fuel resistance head on.”

“This is not a done deal,” McKibben added. “People will mobilize again.”

CREDO Action deputy political director Josh Nelson also noted that “fierce grassroots activism has stopped these pipelines over and over again,” while David Turnbull, campaigns director at Oil Change International declared the pipelines “will never be completed.”

“Both the Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipelines will never be completed, no matter what President Trump and his oil-soaked cabinet try to do,” Turnbull said. “Trump’s first days in office saw massive opposition, marking the beginning of four years of resistance to his dangerous policies. We stopped Keystone XL and Dakota Access before and we’ll do it again. These are fights Trump and his bullies won’t win.”

As Greenpeace executive director Annie Leonard said, “A powerful alliance of Indigenous communities, ranchers, farmers, and climate activists stopped the Keystone and the Dakota Access pipelines the first time around, and the same alliances will come together to stop them again if Trump tries to raise them from the dead.”

“We all saw the incredible strength and courage of the water protectors at Standing Rock,” Leonard said, “and the people around the world who stood with them in solidarity. We’ll stand with them again if Trump tries to bring the Dakota Access Pipeline, or any other fossil fuel infrastructure project, back to life.”

“Instead of pushing bogus claims about the potential of pipelines to create jobs,” she continued, “Trump should focus his efforts on the clean energy sector where America’s future lives…Renewable energy is not only the future, but the only just economy for today. Keystone, the Dakota Access Pipeline, and fossil fuel infrastructure projects like them will only make billionaires richer and make the rest of us suffer.”

Leonard concluded with the promise, “We will resist this with all of our power and we will continue to build the future the world wants to see.”

As the news quickly spread, many took to Twitter to share their vows of resistance.

Balking at an earlier decision by the Army Corps of Engineers, Energy Transfer Partners — the company responsible for constructing the Dakota Access Pipeline — says the denial of an easement necessary to drill under the Missouri River is of no consequence for its plans to complete the project.

According to a statement from Energy Transfer Partners and Sunoco Logistics, which is acquiring ETP in a merger:

“As stated all along, ETP and SXL are fully committed to ensuring that this vital project is brought to completion and fully expect to complete construction of the pipeline without any additional rerouting in and around Lake Oahe. Nothing this Administration has done today changes that in any way.”

In short, ETP will complete the Dakota Access Pipeline — no matter what the federal government says.

Earlier on Sunday, celebrations erupted over the Army Corps’ announcement the permitting necessary for the Dakota Access Pipeline to pass beneath the Missouri River’s Lake Oahe reservoir would not be granted — a decision some perceived would have direct implications for the future of the project.

Leery of such official decisions after a string of disappointments, however, many water protectors immediately questioned whether ETP CEO Kelcy Warren had contingency plans to ensure completion of the pipeline. Considering the lengths ETP has undertaken with the Dakota Access Pipeline — even justifying abhorrently brutal policing against unarmed protectors — news the project will proceed unhindered hardly came as a shock. ETP states:

“In spite of consistently stating at every turn that the permit for the crossing of the Missouri River at Lake Oahe granted in July 2016, comported with all legal requirements, including the use of an environmental assessment, rather than an environmental impact statement, the Army Corps now seeks to engage in additional review and analysis of alternative locations for the pipeline.

“The White House’s directive today to the Corps for further delay is just the latest in a series of overt and transparent political actions by an administration which has abandoned the rule of law in favor of currying favor with a narrow and extreme political constituency.”

Technically speaking, ETP did perhaps follow the letter of the law — and that fact both doesn’t sit well with Indigenous water protectors who see the U.S. government once again acting to exploit Native peoples on land never officially ceded, but usurped, in the breaking of several treaties.

Indeed, to attain the desired path for Dakota Access, Energy Transfer Partners was able to take land from reluctant private property owners through eminent domain. Most controversy over the pipeline centers on the contextually-striking fight by Native Americans to preserve the integrity of their drinking water supply in North Dakota — but the fight to halt Dakota Access also grips South Dakota, Iowa, and Illinois.

Unconfirmed reports claim ETP has opted to pay $50,000 per day in fines for violating the Army Corps decision rather than sidelining the project for months while awaiting conclusions of an environmental impact statement.

Politicians were quick to denounce the decision to deny the easement, and — like Energy Transfer Partners — deemed the choice starkly political. North Dakota Congressman Kevin Cramer excoriated the Army Corps’ announcement, asserting,

“I hoped even a lawless president wouldn’t continue to ignore the rule of law. However, it was becoming increasingly clear he was punting this issue down the road. Today’s unfortunate decision sends a very chilling signal to others who want to build infrastructure in this country. Roads, bridges, transmission lines, pipelines, wind farms and water lines will be very difficult, if not impossible, to build when criminal behavior is rewarded this way. In my conversation with Assistant Secretary of the Army Jo-Ellen Darcy today, she was unable to give any legal reasons for the decision and could not answer any questions about rerouting the pipeline. I’m encouraged we will restore law and order next month when we get a President who will not thumb his nose at the rule of law. I feel badly for the Corps of Engineers because of the diligent work it did on this project, only to have their Commander-in-Chief throw them under the bus. But he’s been doing that to the military for eight years, so why not one more time on his way out the door.”

Others quickly joined the tirade.

“It’s long past time that a decision is made on the easement going under Lake Oahe. This administration’s delay in taking action — after I’ve pushed the White House, Army Corps, and other federal agencies for months to make a decision — means that today’s move doesn’t actually bring finality to the project. The pipeline still remains in limbo. The incoming administration already stated its support for the project and the courts have already stated twice that it appeared the Corps followed the required process in considering the permit,” said Senator Heidi Heitkamp (ND) in a statement.

“For the next month and a half, nothing about this project will change. For the immediate future, the safety of residents, protesters, law enforcement, and workers remains my top priority as it should for everyone involved. As some of the protesters have become increasingly violent and unlawful, and as North Dakota’s winter has already arrived — with a blizzard raging last week through the area where protesters are located — I’m hoping now that protesters will act responsibly to avoid endangering their health and safety, and move off of the Corps land north of the Cannonball River.”

Heitkamp, incidentally, met with President-Elect Donald Trump last week, to the delight of Morton County Commission Chairman Cody Schulz, who noted:

“I sincerely hope Senator Heitkamp is able to make a direct plea to the new Administration for the help and resources from the federal government that are desperately needed to assist local law enforcement in their efforts to provide public safety, and to expedite a decision on the final easement for the Dakota Access pipeline so that our citizens may return to their normal lives. We have seen nothing but foot-dragging and unhelpful directives from the Obama administration. I trust Senator Heitkamp will use her meeting and her influence to ensure that help is on the way for the people of North Dakota when the President-Elect is sworn in on January 20th.”

The Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) is a 1,100-mile pipeline under construction by Energy Transfer Partners, slated to carry a half million barrels of Bakken shale oil under the Missouri River just a half mile upstream from the border of the Standing Rock Reservation, and a few miles north of the drinking water intake for the majority of the reservation population. The pipeline is being built on the treaty territories for which the ancestors of the Standing Rock people negotiated in the Fort Laramie Treaties of 1851 and 1868. (Source: theindy.org) Image Credit: Ivan Rios-Fetchko

Questions also swirled concerning the nine-state, multiple agency coalition of law enforcement led by the Morton County Sheriff’s Department, which has aggressively and barbarously policed the unarmed water protectors for months, and if taxpayer funding could possibly be justified if ETP violates the easement decision.

Standing Rock water protectors still reeling from Sunday’s fleeting victory against the pipeline now ironically face their own decisions about an eviction notice from the Army Corps of Engineers and must choose whether or not to vacate several camps north of the Cannonball River. Reports from the camps say although a few people have indeed vacated the area, thousands more have arrived to support the Standing Rock Sioux in just the past few days — including more than 5,000 veterans.

With water protectors vowing to stay camped at Standing Rock until the Dakota Access Pipeline is halted for good, and Energy Transfer Partners openly dismissing the Army Corps of Engineers decision, a confluence of polemic circumstances has crafted a powder keg near the Missouri River.

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RT| The US Army Corps of Engineers will not grant permission for the Dakota Access Pipeline to cross Lake Oahe, the hotspot of massive protests of water protectors, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe said in a statement, adding that alternative routes are now being studied.

“The Department of the Army will not approve an easement that would allow the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline to cross under Lake Oahe in North Dakota,” said a statement on the US Army website, citing the Assistant Secretary for Civil Works, Jo-Ellen Darcy.

According to Darcy, it was “clear” they needed to address concerns of tribal leaders who expressed concerns over the potential environmental impact of the Dakota Access Pipeline, and “the best way to complete that work responsibly and expeditiously is to explore alternate routes for the pipeline crossing.”

“The consideration of alternative routes would be best accomplished through an Environmental Impact Statement with full public input and analysis,” the Army statement said.

Standing Rock Sioux chairman Dave Archambault II has issued a statement expressing his gratitude to the Obama administration for enabling the “historic decision” to re-reroute the pipeline.

“We wholeheartedly support the decision of the administration and commend with the utmost gratitude the courage it took on the part of President Obama, the Army Corps, the Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior to take steps to correct the course of history and to do the right thing,”he wrote.

The news is a massive win for the Sioux tribe that established the protest camp at the site in April and has gained huge support in recent weeks.

The pipeline was intended to pass through North Dakota’s Lake Oahe, which is a burial site sacred to the Standing Rock Sioux. The tribe voiced concerns the pipeline would threaten the community’s drinking water and would also damage sites of sacred significance.

Military veterans joined activists, who call themselves water protectors, at Standing Rock this week, with more than 3,500 pledging to join the demonstration.

The tribe’s chairman paid thanks to its “millions of supporters around the globe” and said they looked forward to celebrating their victory at home with their families in the coming days.

Standing Rock Sioux tribe also expressed its wish to heal the relationship with police following tensions and clashes during the standoff. While protests have been largely peaceful, confrontations with police have led to violent clashes in recent weeks.

Stunning victory at StandingRock! When’s the last time the federal gov’t was defeated by the Native peoples? Inspiration for what’s ahead…

Some 26 activists were injured in a November 20 confrontation when police fired water cannon in below-freezing temperatures. Rubber bullets and tear gas were also reportedly used against the water protectors on site.

Around 564 people were arrested during the protests, according to the Morton County Sheriff’s Department.

Spent the day at the Sacred Stone Camp where First Nations activists are in a state of civil disobedience,… https://t.co/krQTSlI3rq

Its been a major struggle for our water protectors. Not just because of the rampant violence they’ve had to face from police hired by the pipeline builders, but also because they are literally living in a camp set up in a field right now. Do you have any idea how cold it’s already getting there and it’s not even winter yet? TOO COLD.

They’ve certainly been needing a pick-me-up.. And they just got one!
(Video at the bottom of this article)

“The great bison or buffalo of North America is a very powerful symbol to American Indians. Though best suited to cooler climates, bison roamed virtually in entire continent.

The smaller woodlands bison and its bigger cousin, the plains bison were revered and honored in ceremony and everyday life. To the plains Indian, our Bison Brother meant sacred life and the abundance of the Creator’s blessing on Mother Earth.

The bison is powerful medicine that is a symbol of sacrifice and service to the community. The bison people agreed to give their lives so the American Indian could have food, shelter and clothing.

The bison is also a symbol of gratitude and honor as it is happy to accept its meager existence as it stands proud against the winds of adversity.

The bison represents abundance of the Creator’s bounty and respect for all creation knowing that all things are sacred.”

The chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe criticized law enforcement’s “militarized” response to the camp and called for demonstrations to remain peaceful, but stressed that activists would not give up their cause.

“Militarized law enforcement agencies moved in on water protectors with tanks and riot gear today. We continue to pray for peace,” Dave Archambault II said in a statement Thursday evening.

“We won’t step down from this fight,” he added. “As peoples of this earth, we all need water. This is about our water, our rights, and our dignity as human beings.””

anonews.co| Anonymous warns the governor to back off or they will release documents showing the conflict of interest and then goes on to say that if one protestor on the Indian side is harmed, Anonymous will “release docs on” the individuals responsible.

“We decided to stand with the Native Americans whose land you raped, whose sacred lands you destroyed.”

“We know where you live. Everyone you know. And everything there is to know about you.”

While translating that threat—which extends to individual Guardsmen—is perilous, it has in the past involved monkey wrenching individual credit ratings, cancelling credit cards—electronic mischief ranging from embarrassing to harmful.

North Dakota Pipeline To Halt Temporarily After Tribe’s Protest

The Standing Rock Sioux tribe’s request for a temporary stop work order on the Dakota Access Pipeline has been granted by a federal judge.

A pipeline company has agreed to halt construction of the oil pipeline in parts of North Dakota until Friday. A Native American tribe says it has ancient burial and prayer sites, a lawyer for the company said in court on Tuesday.

Native Americans marched to the site of a sacred burial ground that was disturbed by bulldozers building the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), near the encampment where hundreds of people had gathered to join the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s protest of the oil pipeline slated to cross the nearby Missouri River, September 4, 2016 near Cannon Ball, North Dakota. Protestors were attacked by dogs and sprayed with an eye and respiratory irritant yesterday when they arrived at the site to protest after learning of the bulldozing work. / AFP / ROBYN BECK (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)

FLASHBACK: Democracy Now! was on the ground on Saturday in North Dakota where security guards working for the Dakota Access pipeline company attacked Native Americans with dogs and pepper spray as they resisted the $3.8 billion pipeline’s construction. If completed, the Dakota Access pipeline would carry about 500,000 barrels of crude per day from North Dakota’s Bakken oil field to Illinois, where it would meet up with an existing pipeline that would carry the oil all the way down to Texas. The pipeline has faced months of resistance from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and members of nearly 100 more tribes from across the U.S. and Canada. On Friday, lawyers for the tribe filed documents showing how the very land where Dakota Access would bulldoze on Saturday was, in fact, a tribal burial site. Democracy Now! was on the ground on Saturday. Below is a Democracy Now! exclusive report:

Per abc News: An American Indian tribe succeeded Tuesday in getting a federal judge to temporarily stop construction on some, but not all, of a $3.8 billion four-state oil pipeline, but its broader request still hangs in the balance.

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said Tuesday that work will temporarily stop between North Dakota’s State Highway 1806 and 20 miles east of Lake Oahe, but will continue west of the highway because he believes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lacks jurisdiction on private land.

He also said he will rule by the end of Friday on the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s challenge of federal regulators’ decision to grant permits to the Dallas, Texas-based operators of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which will cross North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois.

U.S. Judge James Boasberg said on Tuesday he granted in part and denied in part the temporary restraining order by agreement of the parties. The area in which Dakota Access agreed to halt activity until Friday represented some but not all of the area requested in the temporary restraining order.

Dakota Access had filed its opposition to the tribes’ request early on Tuesday, accusing the Standing Rock Sioux tribe of provoking the violence and breaking the law in trying to stop the pipeline.

A group of firms led by Energy Transfer Partners <ETP.N> is building the 1,100-mile (1,770-km) pipeline. The $3.7 billion project would be the first to bring crude oil from Bakken shale, a vast oil formation in North Dakota, directly to refineries in the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Dakota Access, the limited liability company carrying out the actual construction, had planned for the pipeline to be operational by the fourth quarter of this year, but construction has been dogged since April by protests in North Dakota.

*****

The judge reaffirmed on Tuesday that he would issue a decision about the injunction by Friday.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers did not oppose the tribes’ motion for the temporary restraining order. The agency said in a court document filed on Sunday that “the public interest would be served by preserving peace” until the judge issues a ruling on the injunction.

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